Damien Hardwick returns serve over Ross Lyon's ‘disrespectful' remark towards Gold Coast: ‘AFL's nepo baby'

Perth Now

25-05-2025

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has returned serve after St Kilda coach Ross Lyon described the Suns as 'the AFL's nepo baby'.
A historically low crowd of just 13,486 fans turned up at Marvel Stadium on Sunday to watch the Saints lose by 19 points.
Lyon pre-empted the defeat by mocking top-four hopefuls Gold Coast and the AFL when asked about the looming tactical battle in an interview before the game.
'I'm a little bit concerned. They're chock full of talent, aren't they — the AFL nepo baby,' he said on Fox Sports, looking back at the camera with a laugh.
Lyon immediately moved to talk tactics, pinpointing the impact of two Suns recruits in Daniel Rioli and John Noble, rather than expanding on his thoughts about Gold Coast's previous draft concessions.
But the disparaging nickname was enough for Hardwick to take aim in his press conference after the 12.8 (80) to 8.13 (61) win.
'Nepo baby?' he laughed.
'Oh, it's a little bit disrespectful, I think.
'Trust me, I've been at Richmond and I've come to the Gold Coast — we don't get a lot.'
Hardwick then called out the damning crowd figure that was the Saints' lowest at Marvel Stadium outside of COVID seasons.
'What probably St Kilda should do is just make sure they focus on their own backyard instead of trying to bring everyone else down,' he said.
'You know, 13,000 people here today (pause) ... we'll just focus on Gold Coast, they should focus on themselves.
'End of the day, first person or first place you need to look is inward.
'So focus on them, we'll focus on us.'
Hardwick said 'no, not particularly' when asked if he would seek to discuss it with Lyon — but Suns chief executive Mark Evans took a different path.
He reportedly 'confronted' St Kilda boss Carl Dilena.
'I thought the comments were offensive and out of line,' Evans told SEN afterwards.
'If there is any club in the world that might have an understanding that progress isn't always linear that would be St Kilda.'
Lyon's shot at Gold Coast is St Kilda's latest salvo in their war on the AFL draft, father-son and academy systems under president Andrew Bassat.
In a win for the Saints, the draft index will be adjusted this year to play down the father-son and academy advantage — but not scrapped.
Hardwick's reference towards the crowd figure also comes after Bassat was accused on The Agenda Setters of 'talking down' Marvel Stadium as the Saints' home ground.
Lyon wasn't overly concerned about the low attendance figure, putting it down to several factors.
'I don't think it's my brief,' he said.
'But timeslot, interstate (opponent), low membership/following, expansion club, our performance against West Coast the week before — I think it all goes into the melting pot.'
St Kilda's loss to Gold Coast dropped the Victorian side to 14th on the ladder to finish Round 11.
The Suns, meanwhile, can keep dreaming of a top-two finish.
Hardwick entered the contest with a horror 1-9-1 record as a coach at Marvel Stadium since his infamous declaration when in charge of Richmond four years ago that he hated playing there.
But Suns captain Noah Anderson (36 disposals, 11 clearances) and former skipper Touk Miller (30 touches, one goal) helped ensure the latest visit had a happy ending.
Ben Long kicked three majors against his former team, while Sam Collins marshalled the Gold Coast defence.
The only sour note for the Suns was a right ankle injury to Mac Andrew, who limped off with five minutes left in his 50th game.
Hardwick said the key defender would be 'touch and go' for next Saturday's home clash with Fremantle.
- with AAP